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10/8/12

McGill researchers explore big questions about universe

A research team led by McGill University Physics Prof. Alexander Maloney
is among the winners of the New Frontiers in Astronomy and Cosmology
International Grant and Essay Competition who will present their winning
proposals and essays in a joint conference Oct. 12 and 13 at the
Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.
The competition, led by Donald G. York, the Horace B. Horton Professor
in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, will award
more than $4 million in research grants to 20 scientists and more than
$200,000 to 21 student essayists worldwide.
The funds
were provided through a grant from the John Templeton Foundation to
encourage scientists and students across the globe to explore
fundamental, big questions in astronomy and cosmology that engage
groundbreaking ideas on the nature of the universe.
The amount of the award for the McGill team led by Maloney is $180,000
(U.S.), which will be used to fund postdoctoral researchers and graduate
students. Along with his co-investigators at McGill - professors Robert
Brandenberger (Physics), Johannes Walcher (Mathematics and Statistics
and Physics) and Patrick Hayden (Computer Science) - Maloney will
address basic conceptual problems at the interface of quantum physics
and cosmology.
"Through these awards, the New Frontiers program
aims to support bold, innovative research with the potential to expand
boundaries and catalyze breakthrough discoveries, as well as inspire
students to pursue scientific knowledge and become original,
forward-looking big question thinkers of tomorrow," York said.
The program invited research proposals addressing four big questions
that have potential to expand the boundaries and deepen the foundation
of scientific inquiry:
+ What was the earliest state of the universe?
+ Is our universe unique or is it part of a much larger universe?
+ What is the origin of the complexity in the universe?
+ Are we alone in the universe? Or, are there other life and intelligence beyond the solar system?
Prof. Maloney's team at McGill aims to answer two sub-questions related to the earliest state of the universe:
+ What are the scientific ways to test various theories of the earliest state of the universe?
+ If space and time are not fundamental in the deepest scientific description of the universe, how did they emerge?
"Current models of cosmology based on Einstein's theory of general
relativity successfully describe many features of our universe at its
largest scales. Yet they fail to describe the dynamics of the universe
at very early times where a quantum theory of gravity becomes
necessary," Maloney notes.
"Finding answers to these questions will advance scientists'
understanding of the quantum structure of space-time in cosmological
settings, of the emergence of structure from the Big-Bang singularity
and of the measurable and observable implications of quantum cosmology."